


The Flame Burns On

by Helen8462



Series: Tumbler Prompts, Challenges and Other Inspired Vignettes [14]
Category: Star Trek: Voyager
Genre: F/M, Friendship, Katra, Saving a Life, fic request
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2017-11-08
Updated: 2017-11-08
Packaged: 2019-01-30 23:19:10
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 1,149
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/12663489
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/Helen8462/pseuds/Helen8462
Summary: Tuvok deals with the repercussions of his decision to help a friend.





	The Flame Burns On

**Author's Note:**

  * For [santaana](https://archiveofourown.org/users/santaana/gifts).



> This fic is a gift for @inwaitforsomethingbetter. They won my 400th follower give-away on Tumblr and asked for me to write 400 words for Tuvok & Chakotay friendship. I may have… over shot that a bit. Okay, I tripled it, so sue me it was a good pairing.  
> Also, I have pulled from (and taken liberties with) Star Trek Discovery's recent exploration of a Katra transfer as a healing tool.

The flame dances before me, erratic and hot, much like the thoughts that sear through my mind with reckless abandon.  Try as I might, I cannot stop the onslaught of memories washing over me.  Rather than fight them, I decide to ride out with the wave - hopefully I will emerge on the farther shore with more clarity and control.

The first thing I know is her scream.  The sound reverberates off of the bulkheads and with that cry I am pulled back onto the bridge, bracing for another shudder to rip through _Voyager’s_ hull.

I flash to the sight of her kneeling beside our fallen first officer.  She is so consumed with his condition and her impending grief that she’s forgotten to give the order to return fire.

I am prepared to act in absence of command.  My fingertips play across the console, volleying precious torpedoes across the bow of the enemy ship.  I then direct the helm to take evasive action.

“They’re retreating,” Ensign Kim announces, his relief is still clear in my mind.

“Bridge to the Doctor.”  I hear her voice now as I did before, laced through with panic.  She’s frantically searching for a pulse, listening for his breath, but I know she will find neither.   

Her plea for help remains unanswered.  Checking my console I see that internal communications are down, as are transporters, turbolifts… And the only trained medic on the bridge has also sustained injuries.

She positions herself on top of his body, fingers interlaced, arms straight, doing her best to contain fear under a mask of concentration.  I know without a doubt that her efforts will be in vain.

I also know that I can save him.  There is a way.  It is not without a price, but one I am willing to pay.  If not for his sake, then for hers.

Her face betrays a question as I move swiftly to her side.  There is no time to explain.  She slides away into the fog of everything else behind me and my fingertips go to his flesh which is already growing cold.

Familiar words will soon fall from my lips.  I am drawing the breath to speak them when the memories begin to dissipate.  I let them go and they float away peacefully.

It is not the chime at my door, but the increasing strength of his thoughts as he grows physically near that has aroused me from my less-than-successful attempts to meditate.  I pause a moment, still adrift in the torrential sea of our combined minds.  I should have known better than to have attempted this delicate melding with such an emotionally powerful individual. 

After a moment, I bid him to enter.

Glancing up from the firelight, I observe his posture.  There is humility in his stance as he waits for me to greet him.

“I apologize for the intrusion.  I won’t bother you long.”

“It is not an intrusion.”  I rise from my seated position to join him near the door.  The dark fabric of my robe falls heavy to the ground.

“I wanted to thank you… for saving my life.”

His gratitude is sincere, as it should be.  Without me, he would be dead.  

“I was simply doing my duty.”

He tilts his head and considers my words.  I haven’t convinced him of my intentions, and rightfully so.  The truth is that I haven’t saved others as I’ve saved him, and not because it wouldn’t have been possible.  He is searching for an explanation.

“You are the most important person in the captain’s life.  Without you, her journey home would be… unnecessarily difficult.”

“You did this for her, then?”

“That is correct.”

There is a surge of emotion that he works quickly to tuck and fold away.  But in this moment, he has confirmed that which I have long suspected.  His feelings for – and reliance on – the captain runs as deep and strong as hers does for him.  He is grateful that she will not have to live without him, more than he is grateful for the ability to continue living.

“I also did it for you,” I offer, for I believe he should know his worth beyond just what he does for her.  “I have come to value your insight and your unique set of skills.  You are a valuable member of this crew, and a friend.”

“Thank you, Tuvok.”  I have taken him off guard with my uncharacteristic candor.  Perhaps this melding of our minds has left me more emotionally open than I had realized.  He wrings his hands in front of him briefly, then asks, “Is there anything else I should know about all of this?”

“After an appropriate period of time, there is another ritual in which we must partake.  A rejoining of my Katra.  Otherwise, no.  If at any point you find my thoughts to be overwhelming, alert me at once.”

“And you do the same,” he jokes uneasily.

“That, is what the flame is for.”

“Ah… yes.  Right.”  He shifts his feet.  I can feel the tension swell in his mind, threatening to crest and knock me back.  I take a thoughtful, cleansing breath as he continues.  “I’ve actually not noticed much of anything from you.”

He is lying, of this I am certain.  But it is not a lie for the sake of deceit.  He is respectfully allowing my privacy and dignity to remain intact, an offering which I wholly appreciate. 

“Then my efforts to meditate have been successful.”

He pulls away.  “And I should let you return to them.”

I bow my head, bidding him goodnight.  “Please give the captain my regards when you see her for dinner,” I offer as a reminder to keep his thoughts in check. 

He freezes.  An uncomfortable flush comes over his face and his mind.  “Uh… Yes.  I will.”

“There is no need for embarrassment, Commander.  Rest assured your secrets are safe with me.  I have very little interest in them and will not retain them for long.”

“Good to know.”  He tugs at his ear.   Just before he heads through the open doorway, he asks, “When did you say we can get out of each other’s heads?”

“Provided I am left with adequate time to meditate, approximately five days.”

“Five days.  Good, good.  Might I suggest a privacy lock on your door?”

“A wise and insightful idea, Commander.”

He chuckles nervously again and then exits to the hallway.  As his physical distance from me grows, his thoughts dissipate as smoke into the wind, thought I know they will waft through again before this experience is over. 

I have made the right decision, of that I am now certain.  A week of mental unrest is a small price to pay for his life, and for hers. 

My robe folds onto the floor.  The flame burns on. 

And with some work, all is calm again.

**Author's Note:**

> Thanks to lodessa for taking a look at the first draft of this for me. Her ideas made this much better, but the mistakes are still mine.


End file.
